Agricultural machine.



L. S. EVANS.

AGHiCULTURAL MACHINE.

APLICATION FILED SEPT.15, 1914.

Patented May 9, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET-].

i lill Ell lill awww/wom Mu m w L. S. EVANS.

AGRICULTURAL MACHINE, l

APPLXCATION FILED SEPT. l5, 1914. 1,182,1 55. Patented my 9, 1916. l 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 `,Lucius s. Evans, or BALLINGER, Tnxnsi AGRICULTURAL MACHINE.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Application :filed September 15, 1914. Serial No.-861,835.

To all 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, Lucius SANFORD EVANS, citizen of the United States, lresiding atBallinger, in the county vof Runnels and State' of Texas,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Agricultural Machines, of which the following is a specification. y

rlhis invention aims to provide,-in an agricultural machine, a rotary cutter and a fixed horizontal cutter `which coperate in va novel manner, and to provide novel means for mounting the horizontal .cutter yieldingly.

Inthe drawings z-Figure 1 is a plan view, partly broken away, ofy myimproved machine; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the frame and a rotary cutter, showing the parts separated but in their approximately relative positions; Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view ofthe parts of the clamp separated but approximately in their proper relativepositions. y In carrying out my invention, I employ a frame consisting of front and rear beams 1 and 2, which are vconnected at intervals' by shorter beams or bars 3, the beams 1 and 2 being arranged parallel and the ybars 3 being rigidly secured to the ysaid beams in any desired manner. As shown most clearly in Fig. 1, six barsB are provided, and the said bars are arranged in pairs so that cutters carried by the several pairs of bars will act simultaneously upon three rows of plants as the machine is drawn overthe field. The front and rear beamsare preferably divided, and the members thus formedI are connected by hinges 4 sothat, as the machine is drawn over' the field, the severalV sections or mem# bers may readily accommodate themselves to any unevenness or irregularityin the surface of the ground. f i p The front beam 1 carries c'levises 5f to which pulling rods are attached, said rods v having their front ends connected inany desired manner to the draft animals. When it is desired toconnect lthe device tola drag harrow, I remove the rods 6 and provide straps 7 which have their rear ends attached to the front beam land their front ends securedlto the rear bar of the'drag harrow whereby the machine will be drawn posiratei/leed May e, 191e tively` over the 'field directly in rearof the drag harrow.

In the lower edges or sides of the bars 3, l provide recesses or notches 8 which receive the ends of shafts 9. A bearing plate 10 is secured rigidly to theunder sidevof each bar 3 tosupport the said shaft, the said plate f having a seat 11 formed therein to constitute a bearing for theshaft7 and a clip or U-'bolt 12 being inserted upwardly through the ends c of the said plate and 'the barfand secured rigidly in thebar so as to firmly support the shaft. 1t will thus be seen that the shafts are rigidly secured to the bars and the rotary cutters are mounted loosely upon the shafts. The rotary cutters each consist of a' sleeve orlhub 13 encircling the shaft and having spokes 14C formed integral therewith,

the outer ends of the spokes being laterally extendedso as to provide heads 15 which are grooved in their outer edges to receive the cutter blades 16, as shown. The blades are bolted or otherwise rigidly secured in the heads, and it will be readily understoodr that as a blade is'worn it may be easily removed a and a fresh blade substituted therefor. It

spokes will serve as clod crushers to break up any lumps of dirt which may lie along` therow so that they machine may be used to will also kbenoted that, if all the blades be removed, the heads or outerends of the quickly reduce the soil to a proper condition for the planting of a new crop. `The rotary cutters or the hubs thereof are held against longitudinal.movement upon the respective shafts by collars 17 which are secured upon the shafts adjacent thexends of the hubs by set-screws or equivalent devices,` and this arrangement permits me to space the cutters so that they will travel properly along the rows. a

To the rear beam 2, l secure a series of brackets 18 having a central depending portion or standard, at the upper end of which is a laterally turned lip or plate 19 which isadaptedtc rest upon the beam?, and

through which suitable screws or bolts may be passed to secure the bracket to the beam.

At the lower end of the standard or inter- Ymediate portion of the bracket is a rearwardly projecting plate or lip 20,'upon which a stubble blade or cutter' 21 is carried.V

pivotal connection between the blade and the plate, while the other pin 23 is of wood yor some other easily fractured material so that, if the cutter 1n its travel strikes a rocker other non-yielding obstruction, the said pin v will break and permit the cutter to swing around lthe obstruction without being damaged. vThe o-perator will, of course, keep a supply of these frangible pins on hand so that, when one is broken, he may immediately restore the blade to its working position and insert a new pin. Y

The bracket 18 should be of such height that it will extend from the frame close to the ground, and they cutter should extend from the bracket across the path of the rotary cutter and directly in rear of the same so that the stubbley left by the rotary cutter may be cut olf close to or `flush with the ground. As shown most clearly vin Fig. 1, the forward or cutting edge ofthe blade 21 is curved at its free end toward the frame of the machine yso that the stems against which the blade moves will not be turned aside and permitted to clear thek end of the blade, but will be positively cut oif.

Upon the rear beam 2 at the center'of the same, I secure a bracket or loop 24 through the arch of whicha pivot pin or bolt 25 is inserted into the rear beam. A tongue 26 has its front end loosely'mounted upon the *said pin or bolt, and a spring 27 is coiled ,around the bolt or pin below the'said tongue and serves to cushionthe front-endV ofthe tongue as the machine is drawn overvthe ield. The rear end of thetongue 26 is pivoted between the clamp membersoOso as to have lateral movement. rlhe said clamp members are shaped to lit around and are securely fastened to an axle 28 of the'riding attachment. Ground wheels 30 are loosely mounted upon the ends of the axle, as shown and aswill be readily understood.

Pivoted upon the tongue in advance of the axle is a cross bar 31 to the ends of which are loosely attached the rear ends of guy lever is connected by a rod or link 38 with the cross bar 38, and it will be readily understood that by swinging the lever backward or forward the said cross bar will be inoved about its pivotal connection with Ythe tongue and, consequently, the axle 28 swung to one or the other side of the line Vof travel so that the axle and the ground wheels 80 may follow the movement of the drag harsaid frame without tending to move toV either e:

side.

By connectingthe ridingV attachment with the frame in the manner shown and described, the necessary independent movement of the parts in turning is permitted, l

while the riding attachment will vbe held positively. in direct line with the cutter frame when moving along the rows. It will also be noted that the ground wheels of the ridingattaclnnent are so spaced as'to come f between the rows. In order that the frame of the riding attachment may be held above the ground so that the cutters will not operate when the machine is being drawn along a road, or from one eld to another, I prol vide at each end of the frame la lever 39 which carries a roller or wheel 40 at its lower end. The lever 39may be equipped with any common flatch device (not shown) adapted to engage a segment or holding rack g e2 on the frame. Upon theframe over each rotary cutter l provide a hood 43 so that the operator, or other persons whoV may be nea-r the machine while it is in'use, will be protected against injury by contact with theh roy y tary cutters. f

It is thought that the use and advantages of my improved machine will be readily un,- derstood from the foregoing description,

taken in connection withthe accompanying drawings. The machine is Vdrawn over Vthe ground in rear of a drag harrow whicliwill clear the standing stalks of all stems or burs, and the rotary cutters will break downfthe stalks and cut them into' short pieces. short stubble left projecting above the ground will be cut ed at the surface of the ground by the stubble cutters which are caused to travel in the rear of the rotary critters.

The l Having thus described the invention, what i is claimed as new is In a machine of the class described, a frame; a rotary cutter Journaled 1n the frame and' constituting a support for the frame; a i

bracket depending from the rear of the rotary cuttersinks unduly into the ground frame; a substantially horizontal blade con-r and 'creates an undue draft on the blade. 1o stituting a means for limiting the tilting of In testimony whereof I aix my signature the 'frame on the rotary cutter; a pivot elein presence of two Witnesses.

5 ment uniting theblade With the bracket; y LUCIUS S. EVANS. [11.8.]

and a frangible pin uniting the blade with Witnesses: the bracket, the frangible pin permitting the PAUL TRIMMIER, blade to swing on the pivot element When the C. W. NORTHINGTON.

ogies of this;` patent may be obtained for ive cents each, by addressing the commissioner of Patents,l Washington, D. G. 

